Winter is closing in here in the Rockies. Dropping temps have chased me into the shop to warm up next to the stove after an afternoon on the tractor, wrestling with the chain saw and playing with the dogs.

Recent threads and posts on AR have me poking around a bit among the embers at the bottom of the stove.

So.....you want to go to Africa?

What do you want to hunt? Do you want to hunt, or do you want to shoot? There is a big difference in Africa today. Understand this. Understand this now.

Okay, pick the game. Dangerous game? So-called plains game? Free range? Fenced? Unfenced? Indigenous? Put and take?

Before you go any further, come to understand the meaning(s) of the above terms. And understand this, they mean different things to different people.

Yes, it will cost you. Get the $$ in order. It's gonna cost you. Get over it.

Is it the experience of hunting your trophy of choice, or is it Africa, or, is it, well.....?

Exacty what is it that brought you to this moment in your life? Come to know this and you will know the answers to the above.

But....let's move on. You've decided you want to "hunt" Africa.

Well, lets acknowledge first that Africa offers both hunts and shoots. Know that there are legitmate hunts for dangerous game and plains game in Southern Africa in countries like Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and for the time being Botswana----and then there are "shoots" for the same species in some, if not all the countries mentioned.

The "real" hunts for the "real" dangerous game will cost you dearly. Big time. And I mean big time. Such hunts, which have become, frankly, pursuits of the past, are available only to the few, and under very limited conditions.

Virtually all the hunts in RSA are behind fences. It's up to you to chew on that. Your call.

Booking agents are fine, but they have a fiduciary relationship with whomever they talk to. Take their input with a BIG grain of salt. Buyer beware. Buyer beware. Wnen money is involved, buyer beware. Anyone willing to do 15 minutes of research will find some of the offerings we see here on AR absolutely preposterous.

Go to the shows. Walk the aisles. Hang at the bars. Make yourself a pain in the ass. Talk to people. Forget the magazines, they all have something to sell. Talk to people who have been there. Get on the phone. Talk to references willing to give you references.

Traditional? Practical? Brit, German, French, Italian, Dutch? Dangerous game? Plains game? Fenced, no fence? Put & take, wild, free range?
Tents? Chalets?

Caliber? Caliber to rifle? Type of rifle ?

Scotch.
Gin.
Vodka.
Bourbon.
Pimms.

Anyone who has been to Africa once, twice, or even three times doesn't know shit. They don't even know---what they don't know! They simply don't know shit. Ten or 12 days in the bush with one buff in the salt dosen't count for much. Not much at all. Move on.

For me the African experience has been a great one. Like all international travel, it has enriched my life. I have been to only 3 countires over the stretch of 7 trips. When I reflect upon my experince I have come to appreciiate just how much I don't know about Africa.

I think this is a good thing. It will make me go back. And back again.

Oh, how I wish I could have been there in the "good old days". You know, when Africa was "real"? Whatever that means.

Go for it. Make the journey. Live the life. We are here for such a short time. Make the decision. Make the trip. Go for it. There is an Africa out there that will suit your needs, I promise you. Go for it. You will never forget it.

quote:

Go for it. Make the journey. Live the life. We are here for such a short time. Make the decision. Make the trip. Go for it. There is an Africa out there that will suit your needs, I promise you. Go for it. You will never forget it.

I only can confirm this i just finished a 21 days hunt in the Selous and cant wait to go again next year.

Seloushunter

That, My friend, was a very fine post.

Good post, but a couple of comments. I have hunted twice Omay in Zim, million acre concession, Selous 500,000 acre concession. I did not find the cost prohibitive. Priced a Ford pickup lately? the one I want is over $40,000. I will continue to hunt in Africa and drive my 7 year old pickup. The same guys that tell me they cannot afford a hunt drive a new $40,000 pickup, have a $10,000 4 wheeler, and a $50,000 bass boat. Screwed up priorities.

As far as experience, I know a couple of guys that have been multiple times and just do not get it. I have close to 30 days in Africa with only 11 days of actual hunting. I finished both hunts early and stayed in camp until they kicked me out. After my first hunt I knew everything, after my second hunt I do seem to know less. Hope the trend changes as I experience my third hunt in three years.

quote:

nyone who has been to Africa once, twice, or even three times doesn't know shit. They don't even know---what they don't know! They simply don't know shit. Ten or 12 days in the bush with one buff in the salt dosen't count for much. Not much at all. Move on.

very true words. things change country by country, area by area, time by time

I have been to Africa once in 2008 and I may not know shit but here is what I do know:

18 days in Tanz with 3 buff in the salt as well as Puku, Bushbuck, Zebra, Waterbuck and a magnificent lion make me want to return to do it all over again;

I know I love the taste of Bushbuck and Zebra more than any other meat I have ever eaten;

I know that I had more fun with my PH than any human alive, he knew more about me and my limitations than I did, and I learned more about myself than I could have imagined;

I knew that I was in over my head when pursued and charged on several occasions by a lioness;

I know that my trackers possess abilities that I could only dream of;

I know that when walking through the tall grass wherein lie buffalo or lion that mamba's and puff adders are my least concern;

I know that it counted for everything;

And I know that I will be back in 2011.


Dutch

Everything is relative. What may be your cup of tea may not be someone else's...and vice versa.

What you said about Africa stands true for every other continent which has some form of wild/fenced hunting/shooting.

P.S. Mike70560 I really liked what you said about getting priorities in order.

great post TWL, Your advice to define the experience that you are looking for is spot on. Deciding that you want to "go to Africa" is in the same category as deciding that you are going to go out to dinner. It implys a willingness to spend money but leaves open the question of where you are going spend it and what you are going to buy. It is only a first step. Whatever you do, don't decide that you are going to hunt Africa and let someone else, friend, acquaintance, broker, outfitter or PH, determine what that experience is going to be.
Four trips and looking forward to the fifth.

Superb post, my man...

Iw as fortune enough to get to live and work in the expirence for a year as 2 separate 6 month trips, and have been back 4 more times since..and I am still learning every single day about hunting over there. Headed back twice in '10, once in May, again in Oct/Nov.

Hear! Hear! Well said!

And yep My truck is 7 years old!

The wife asked me recently why I didn't buy a new truck. I asked if maybe she wanted to go back to Africa next year instead of waiting 'til 2011. She thought about it for about half a second and said seven years old and 230k miles, heck that's just broke in.

I agreed.

Mebbe' so we can find somebody to send us on another Buff hunt in Dallas.